Shrimp’s jumbo appeal

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. It also happens to be the holiday season, but in this specific instance we’re talking about wild Maine shrimp, the tiny, briny delicacy harvested in the Gulf of Maine during the coldest winter months. If, for some reason, I ever have to pick a last mortal meal, part of the menu will be a large serving of shrimp — some in maki rolls, some deep-fried, some sauteed in garlic and butter, and some just plain raw. Preferably purchased from the back of a truck on the side of the road. The season is a month longer this year than other years, and prices are very low, so it would behoove you to stock up your freezer. Lest I continue waxing poetic on the wonders of Maine shrimp, I offer up another way to prepare the little guys. Their small size and tender consistency makes them ideal for ceviche, a Latin American dish that’s incredibly easy to make, but very impressive and unique tasting. The recipe: Marinate a pound of shrimp in lemon juice and sea salt for two to four hours. That’s it! The acid in the citrus will effectively “cook” the shrimp, as well as give it quite a lemony zing. Serve on a salad, or with rice. Do you have any favorite Maine shrimp recipes? Send them to eburnham@bangordailynews.net if there’s one you just have to share.

Fruitcake fix

Fruitcake Update

BDN fruitcake contest winner Isabelle Walsh of Kenduskeag was mortified to realize she had omitted the leavening from the recipe for her top-notch fruitcake. Without that teaspoon of baking soda, of course, the cake just won’t rise, as reader and baker Ruth Watson of Mount Desert Island discovered. Here, then, is the corrected recipe. No worries, Isabelle: You’re still the fruitcake queen.

Isabelle Walsh’s Fruitcake

1½ cups unsweetened applesauce

1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple

1½ cups sugar

½ cup canola oil

1 egg

2 tablespoons molasses

3½ cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cloves

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon allspice

½ teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup raisins

1 cup walnuts

1 cup red candied cherries

1 cup green candied cherries

Mix together the applesauce, pineapple, sugar, canola oil, egg and molasses. Mix together 3 cups of the flour and spices, and add that mixture to the liquid ingredients. Sprinkle the remaining ½ cup of flour over the nuts and fruits, and fold that into the other ingredients. Pour into one greased tube pan or two 5-by-9 loaf pans. Decorate top with walnut halves and candied cherries. Bake at 325 degrees for 1½ hours or until toothpick comes out clean. Keeps well in refrigerator for up to six weeks.